Natalie Kaye is Channelling Harpo Marx, Mae West, and Shakespeare All at Once

About This Episode: Playwright and writer Natalie Kaye joins Phil Rickaby to talk about her wildly ambitious new musical, 1920s Walking Around in a Dream, playing at the Toronto Fringe Festival. The show is a screwball comedy set in an imagined 1920s Jazz Age Chicago, and it's a retelling of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, translated not into modern English, but into the heightened, slang-drenched language of the Jazz Age. It's a project Natalie has been quietly nurturing for at least a decade, and hearing her describe its journey from a single translated sonnet to a fully staged musical is genuinely thrilling. This episode explores: * How a single translated Shakespeare sonnet launched a decade-long project * Why A Midsummer Night's Dream and the Jazz Age are a perfect match * Silent film, vaudeville, and the Marx Brothers as creative inspirations * The challenge of writing dense, heightened language that audiences can actually follow * What it means to finally relinquish control and trust your cast and director * And much more! Guest: ✍️ Natalie Kaye Natalie Kaye (she/her) Playwright. Natalie is an award-winning playwright and a published poet. She is also a dancer, choreographer and aerial silks performer. A graduate of York University and the University of Toronto, Natalie has a Masters' in Drama. She has worked in theatre as a producer, director, playwright, actor and dramaturg. Her one-act play, Mood Swings, won first place in the Pat the Dog's 24-hour play contest. The play was workshopped by Pat the Dog in February, 2014 and received a full production at Toronto Fringe in 2016 where it was called "beautiful" "well-executed" and "poetic" by Mooney on Theatre. Her short plays, Universe Inc. and A Toast were produced by Newborn Theatre at the Odds and Ends Festival. She is a member of the Vault Creation Lab's writer's group. She co-wrote #1 Clown Comedy With Victor & Priscilla at Toronto Fringe in 2025. Connect with Natalie Kaye: 🌐 Website: unspokentheatrecompany.weebly.com [https://unspokentheatrecompany.weebly.com/] 📸 Instagram: @unspokentheatrecompany [https://www.instagram.com/unspokentheatrecompany] Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stageworthy/id1071732834] | Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/0b9Vl5lsMKqDc1UIYl5thh] | Podchaser [https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/stageworthy-416634] | Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/ca3db4c6-c5b6-4791-b23f-2af83272ac85/stageworthy] | iHeart Radio [https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1310-stageworthy-271061892/] 📺 Watch on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@Stageworthy] – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell! Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy [https://patreon.com/stageworthy] Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20. Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, Steve Read transcript [https://pnc.st/s/stageworthy/38f992c2/natalie-kaye-is-channelling-harpo-marx-mae-west-and-shakespeare-all-at-once/transcript]